Earthquake rattles southwest Montana

By Al Knauber, Chroncile Staff Writer

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.6 rattled western Montana Monday night, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or serious damage.

The quake hit Bozeman at about 10:08 p.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey Web site that also reported it was centered about 13 miles north, northeast of Dillon.

Dave Lageson, a geology professor at Montana State University, said in a telephone interview that a 5.6 quake is strong enough to cause damage.

"I think come morning, we're going to find out there was damage inside of homes," he said.

Lageson also said the quake was strong enough that it could produce aftershocks.

The quake was located in an old geological fault in the bedrock of the Beaverhead Valley, 3.1 miles beneath the surface.

"You'd be in the crust, the hard, brittle rocks that form the crust," he said of where it originated from.

Because the quake was fairly shallow beneath the surface, it was felt strongly across the western part of Montana.

The earthquake was also shook Idaho, northern Wyoming and eastern Washington, he said.

The dispatch office for the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office and the Bozeman Police Department reported no damage or injuries from initial calls. However, the office had received numerous telephone calls on the temblor and one report of a possible natural gas leak on Knaab Drive, on the city's east side.

Jessika Wood, a dispatcher for Park County, said there have been no reports of damage or injuries. The quake shook Livingston for perhaps five seconds or slightly longer.

"I was at home at the time and my whole house shook. It was pretty scary," Wood said.

Cheryl Matthews, a spokeswoman for Yellowstone National Park, said there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

Calls would be made to the park geologist on Tuesday to see if any of Yellowstone's geothermal features had been affected, Matthews said.

Manfred Birk who lives on Mineral Avenue in Bozeman said the bookshelf in his home began to rattle and a desk lamp shook as the quake began.

"I had gone through this before and I knew what it was right away," he said. "A tad more, and stuff would have come off the shelves."

Hazel Knight, who lives on the third floor of Darlington Manor, said she felt a slight rolling and wondered if it was just her or an earthquake. She said she was in the 1994 quake in Northridge, Calif., that measured 6.8 and produced extensive damage.

"So I grabbed my purse and a few seconds later I felt a good shake and something rattle or break," she said.

Melody and Mike Larson were at home in Three Forks when it hit.

"My husband and I were sitting on the couch and the couch started moving back and forth," she said. "I just looked at him and I thought he was rocking or moving his feet."

Kevin Sanders who lives near Squaw Creek in the Gallatin Canyon, about halfway between Big Sky and Bozeman said he felt the rolling sensation from the temblor.

"I was holding the TV and the computer when the first wave came down," he said.

"It definitely wasn't a semi (truck) this time," he said. "You could definitely feel the wave."

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